The imperial inspector Lin absent-mindedly finished his meal and then impatiently urged Li Ying to return to the fishing village quickly and take out the pearl clams.
Li Ying quietly selected the largest clam from her space and calmly placed it in front of him.
She carefully pried open the shell with a dagger, and a strong fishy smell assailed their nostrils.
The imperial inspector Lin, the wealthy merchant, and the others were used to a life of comfort. Despite Li Ying's prior warning, when they suddenly smelled such a pungent odor, they couldn't help but wrinkle their noses.
Holding her breath, Li Ying carefully reached out her hand and picked out the rows of neatly arranged millet-sized pearls.
The imperial inspector Lin had never seen dozens of evenly round pearls arranged so neatly inside a clam shell. When he heard Li Ying explain that if it weren't for proving herself today, these pearls could have continued to grow for some time and would have been as big as beans, he couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.
Without saying much, Concubine Lian also showed a look of complete admiration and exclaimed in surprise, "There's actually such a clever way in the world. From now on, if I want to make a pearl bracelet, I just need to cut open a live clam!"
She emphasized the words "cut open a live clam". Sure enough, Mrs. Lin's face immediately turned a bit ugly.
She ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures every day. How could she bear to hear such a cruel thing!
Could Li Ying not understand the implication behind Concubine Lian's words?
She gave a cold laugh and retorted, "Madam Concubine Lian, the South Sea pearl bracelet you gave to Mrs. Lin has round and even pearls. Could it be that you picked them all from naturally dead pearl shells on the beach?"
Not only did they have to be naturally dead, but each one also had to have a South Sea pearl, and even the size of the pearls had to be exactly the same. How could there be such a coincidence in the world!
Mrs. Lin kept saying that she "didn't want to create more sins", but she really liked this pearl bracelet, so she pretended not to understand.
Li Ying didn't want to fall out with her either. She saw through the matter but didn't say it out loud, and that was that.
But now Concubine Lian used this as an excuse and deliberately came to provoke her. Li Ying couldn't help but expose this false mask.
Sure enough, Concubine Lian was at a loss for words for a moment and stood there awkwardly, speechless. Mrs. Lin's face also became a bit more ugly. She didn't know whether to keep or discard the pearl bracelet.
Li Ying was too lazy to watch their hypocritical posturing. She directly explained to the wealthy merchant, "After taking out the pearls, the clam meat and shells can also be used to feed chickens and ducks, making the Wenchang chicken meat more delicious. This way, we can truly make the most of everything."
Before her voice faded, she heard Concubine Lian let out another exclamation.
"Feed the chickens and ducks? Boss Li, do you know that there are still many common people in the world who are still wandering around and can't even fill their stomachs. You actually want to throw away such big pieces of shellfish meat to feed the chickens?"
Mrs. Lin also nodded in agreement, with a look of heartache on her face.
"Why don't they eat meat? Why don't they eat meat!"
Seeing their expressions, the imperial inspector Lin also said, "Boss Li, can this shellfish meat be eaten by the common people?"
Li Ying rolled her eyes secretly in her heart.
The shellfish used for pearl cultivation were not meant for consumption. Everyone had witnessed the stench when the clam was opened just now. Now, the imperial inspector Lin's words were clearly deliberately making things difficult for her!
If she said that it couldn't be eaten, this hypocritical imperial inspector and his wife would surely use this as an excuse to hinder her pearl cultivation plan!
Su Buchi was watching anxiously from the side and was just about to step forward to explain for Li Ying, but she just blinked her eyes, signaling him not to worry. Then, she gracefully bowed.
"Of course it can be eaten. However, cooking this shellfish meat requires some effort. Please be patient for a while."
She tied on an apron and gracefully walked into the kitchen. Lu Xunguang had already started a strong fire in the stove and was standing there waiting for her.
She gave him a sweet smile and then calmly started to work.
Li Ying sharpened her knife and neatly cut off the internal organs of the pearl clam, which had the strongest odor. Then she carefully separated the clam meat from the mantle and sliced them into thin pieces.
The water just started to boil. She scalded the shellfish meat in the pot, silently counted to fifteen seconds, fished it out with a strainer, put it into cold water to wash it clean, and then marinated it with yellow rice wine and pepper. Most of the fishy smell was removed.
She then took a ripe red pepper and roasted it on the charcoal fire until it had a tiger-skin appearance. In the midst of her busy work, Li Ying noticed that Concubine Lian had somehow sneaked over and was furtively peeping into the kitchen. She rolled her eyes disdainfully.
She poured in a spoonful of hot oil, stir-fried scallions and garlic in the pan, then added the chili rings and shellfish meat and stir-fried them vigorously over high heat. The spicy and strong aroma immediately made Concubine Lian cough uncontrollably.
"Cough, cough..."
Concubine Lian had a runny nose and tears streaming down her face. The scratches on her cheeks began to throb painfully again. She didn't care to see if Li Ying was up to any tricks and hurriedly fled in a hurry.
With the sneaky person gone, Li Ying calmly started to season the dishes.
She mashed the roasted red pepper just now, added honey, sea salt, and pepper for seasoning, then sprinkled a layer of stir-fried white sesame seeds and drizzled in sesame oil. The cold and crispy pearl clam mantle made an excellent appetizer.
She crushed the garlic cloves and chopped them into minced garlic. She put half of it into the oil pan and fried it until golden and fragrant. The other half retained the pungent smell of raw garlic. When mixed together, the golden and silver minced garlic looked very nice.
She lined the cleaned clam shells with a layer of fine konjac vermicelli, neatly arranged the sliced clam meat on top, and finally sprinkled a layer of scallions and the golden and silver minced garlic. With a "hiss" sound, she poured on the heated clear oil. The garlic-roasted clams were very appetizing.
She took a block of tofu and cut it into small square pieces, then cooked them in the kelp broth until they were flavorful.
She then poured in the last portion of the clam meat. When each slice of meat curled up in the boiling soup, Li Ying neatly turned off the fire and arranged the dishes on the plates. This "full clam feast" was easily prepared.
The imperial inspector Lin and the others only smelled a strong aroma coming from the kitchen. Although they had just eaten their fill, looking at this table of delicious dishes, they couldn't help but feel their mouths watering.
"Your Excellency Lin, Madam Lin, please help yourselves."
Li Ying said with a smiling bow.
The several people looked at each other, and each of them showed a look of embarrassment on their faces.
Although these dishes looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful, they had witnessed the stench of the clam meat just now, and they really didn't have the courage to feast on them.
Only the wealthy merchant took a few small bites and nodded continuously.
The clam meat was crispy and really didn't taste strange at all.
The imperial inspector Lin and his wife were speechless and had nothing more to say. After they left, A Man reluctantly walked out of the room. Looking at the leftover food on the table, she curled her lips.
"Putting on airs! Sister, A Man doesn't understand. Why do you have to humble yourself to please these people? That so - called imperial inspector clearly isn't a truly Buddhist person!"
Li Ying gently covered her mouth and said with a smile, "A Man, how could I not see that the imperial inspector Lin and his wife are just hypocrites who only talk about 'kindness'?"
"I've been dealing with them properly today. There must be my reasons."